Chapter 6: Welcome Party

“My, we have guests?” Maria asked as she nonchalantly appeared through the wall.

“AH!” Keel shouted in surprise.

Oh right, I forgot to ask her to stay on the second floor.

“She’s so cute!” Nina, Keel’s sister, exclaimed.

“Why, thank you.”

Maria floated over to Nina, who promptly accepted the doll into her arms. The two looked so lovely together that it put a smile on everyone’s faces.

“So then, Keel, everyone, welcome! All right, let’s eat!” Allen kept the toast simple for the sake of the younger children, who were practically drooling.

Krena could not wait any longer either. “Yep, let’s eat! I’m starving!”

Keel and Nina sat down, but the other six members of their family remained standing.

“Huh?” Uh, why aren’t they sitting down?

“You guys, we’ve gone over this. It’s fine. C’mon, let’s eat together.”

“I-If you say so, Master Keel.”

“And stop calling me that.”

“My apologies.”

The fifteen-year-old boy who apologized to Keel so deferentially did not share any of Keel’s facial features, indicating that the two were not related by blood. In fact, among the eight of them, only Keel and Nina had blond hair.

As I’d thought, by “family,” Keel meant that kind of family.

Allen recalled the definition of “family” taught him by Rickel, the head manservant during his time with the Granvelle family—in short, nobles considered full-on servants part of their extended family. Cecil studied the group closely, clearly also having caught on.

“As you can see, we have plenty of food, so eat as much as you want. And if this isn’t enough, there’s even more in the kitchen.”

Those words served as the signal for everyone to reach out for the large loaves of bread and various meat dishes on the table. Some of the children must have been famished, with how voraciously they dug in. Once Krena and Dogora also joined the fray, the food on the table disappeared in record time.

Allen heaved a sigh of relief that they had bought extra. There had been so much food that it could not all fit on the table, so there was no need to hold back. Keel’s family started off anxious due to the new environment, but over the course of the meal, they gradually loosened up.

While they were eating, Allen surreptitiously observed the group. Nina appeared to be around ten years old. The other six were three boys and three girls ranging from eight to fifteen years old.

I mean, now it’s clear why some of his family members couldn’t find work and why Keel was working himself to the bone.

Suddenly, Keel met Allen’s eyes.

“I just wanted to say, Allen, this offer to move here is an enormous help. Thank you.”

“Of course. We would not have it any other way.”

“While we’re at it, I also wanted to say that you can be casual with me like you are with the others.”

Nice! This feels like a moment someone from a pickup group finally becomes a static party member.

“Okay, will do.”

“Thanks.”

“Still, I’m pretty surprised that you’re a noble,” Cecil commented suddenly, with Allen nodding in agreement.

“You can probably tell from how rough I talk, but I never got a noble’s education or anything like that. Sorry I kept quiet about it. Just so we’re clear, though, I was a noble. I’m not anymore.”

“Past tense? What happened?”

This conversation between Cecil and Keel was the longest they had ever had since he joined. Part of it was her trying to break the ice with him, but another part was also her trying to understand where he was coming from.

Keel explained that his family had been stripped of their status and broken apart in a recent incident. In spite of everything that had happened, however, he still had his little sister and the young servants who had attended them all this time. They had nowhere else to turn, so Keel had taken them all in under his wing, swearing he would protect their livelihoods.

“Oh dear. I’m sorry for digging up such a painful past.”

“Don’t worry about it. On the other hand, you seem a lot more like a noble than me, Cecil.”

“Hm? I am one, though.”

“What?!” All of Keel’s family looked surprised.

“Didn’t we tell you?” Krena mumbled through a mouthful of bread.

She thought back to their first meeting and recalled that they had never properly introduced themselves again after Allen’s initial cursory introduction. For his part, Keel had been desperate to get through the dungeons and was not in the right headspace to get to know his new party members.

Some of the former servants instinctively stood up, but Cecil waved them down in a fluster.

“Please don’t worry about it, really! We’re all equals here in Academy City.”

Those servants mumbled, “U-Understood...” and sat back down, albeit hesitantly.

Wait, a noble family that’s been recently stripped of its status...

Just when a thought was forming in Allen’s mind, Nina spoke up. “Keel, are you sure we can live in such a splendid place?” She was clearly trying to change the subject.

Keel nodded. “That’s right. Everyone will be paid a salary if you do the chores and look after the place, so do your best.”

“Understood, sir,” the oldest boy replied, prompting the others to also express their acknowledgment.

I’ll admit I didn’t expect all of them to be so young. Then again, I was only eight when I started as a manservant. Maybe this is just the norm in this world.

“Well, just do as much as you can without pushing yourselves too hard,” Allen said out loud. “We’ll be out a lot of the time, so please hold down the fort while we’re gone.”

A chorus of “understood” rang out from the servants once again. Nina then asked worriedly, “Does that mean you’ll be visiting the dungeons again, Keel?”

The sight of Nina expressing her concern for Keel made Cecil’s face cloud over. It had probably reminded her of herself and Mihai.

“I will. But don’t worry,” Keel reassured her. “Everyone here is super strong.”

“Really?” Nina cast a look at Krena, who was in the middle of tearing off a large piece of bread and shoving it into her mouth.

“So, what’re we gonna do now?” Dogora asked. “Buy furniture like we discussed?”

Allen nodded. “Yup, like we discussed.”

After a simple “Okay,” Dogora returned to gnawing on the large hunk of meat on a bone he was holding.

“Everyone seems rather close,” Nina commented after seeing the exchange between Allen and Dogora.

“Well, me, Krena—that’s Krena—and Dogora over here all grew up in the same village.”

“Oh right, you did mention something like that before,” Keel said, thinking back to when he had first joined.

“Krena and I used to be serfs,” Allen added, deciding to take this opportunity to share a bit more of his life story. “A lot of things happened, and now we’re commoners.”

“Wait, really? I’m sorry if this comes across the wrong way, but...Allen, you don’t come across like a serf at all.”

“Hah, he’s been like that ever since I can remember,” Dogora chuckled. “Everyone in our village said that he doesn’t seem like one at all.”

Krena nodded. “Mm-hm! Allen never changes!”

What?! What was that supposed to mean, Krena?! I’ve been growing up too!

Keel suddenly came to a realization. “Hm? Wait, if Cecil is a noble...then she didn’t come from your village, right? Which means...she’s from the noble family that ruled your fiefdom?”

Dogora replied on Allen’s behalf. “Yep, Allen went to serve her family as a manservant back when he was eight.”

“That’s right!” Krena agreed with a bright smile. “I’m so happy we got to be reunited and attend the Academy together!”

“Aww, now I’m kinda jealous,” Keel replied with a wistful look. “I wish I had friends from my childhood. By the way, which House were you serving?”

“Granvelle. Did I not say?”

“Gran— Did you just say Granvelle?!” Keel’s hand froze and his head whipped around to stare at Cecil. “So that means Cecil is...”

“The young lady of House Granvelle!” Krena finished his sentence for him.

Keel and several of his servants leaped to their feet, their chairs clattering noisily.

“Huh? What’s going on?” Krena asked as Allen’s group looked on in bewilderment.

“Lady Nina, p-please stay behind me!”

The oldest servant assumed a position between Allen and Nina, trying to move the young girl away. However, everything was happening so suddenly that even Nina was discombobulated, as were the youngest children.

“But that means...” Keel looked at Cecil with disbelief in his face. “No, you’re lying!”

Cecil returned his look, mystified. “I’m not quite sure what you’re saying, but I am Cecil Granvelle, daughter of Viscount Granvelle.”

Keel’s face was filled with such hatred it was as if he was looking at his family’s mortal enemy. “So you’re the young lady of House Granvelle!”

“I am. And you...are the son of Viscount Carnel, I take it?”

“That’s right! Viscount Carnel is my father! How dare you! How dare you tear my family apart!”

Keel was in a blinding rage with his teeth bared in naked hostility. Conversely, Cecil, who seemed to have come to a realization, remained entirely calm.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. What’s going on here?” Dogora looked back and forth between the two repeatedly.

“Oh right, you don’t know about the incident last year. House Granvelle and House Carnel from our neighboring fiefdom got into...a quarrel, let’s say,” Allen explained.

Both Dogora and Krena knew nothing about the fight over mithril mining rights that had taken place between the two noble families last year. It was hardly something to be shared offhandedly, but Allen determined that this situation required at least a brief summary of events.

To think that Keel was from House Carnel. I mean, he did say his family got stripped of its status recently. When I think about it now, the chances of us bumping into someone from Viscount Carnel’s family here in Academy City were actually quite high.

It was not by sheer coincidence that Keel was in the same class as Cecil. To keep things simpler, the twenty thousand student applicants had been sorted by where they had lived. A lot of the students in this class came from the fiefdoms of Count Hamilton—Rifol’s family—Viscount Granvelle, and former Viscount Carnel.

Tension filled the air between Allen’s and Keel’s groups. So, Allen took out a dagger from Storage. It was the silver ornamented one that indicated his status as a guest of House Granvelle.

“I contributed quite a bit to taking down House Carnel during that incident. And this is what I received in reward.” He held it up so that Dogora and Krena could also see it clearly.

“Whoa. It’s my first time hearing the reason why you became a guest of House Granvelle.” Dogora sounded impressed.

At the same time, however, Keel seemed on the verge of bursting a blood vessel. “What do you mean you contributed?! What did you do?!”

Huh? Did Keel not hear the details of what happened?

“I gave Viscount Granvelle advice on how to get the royal family on his side. I also gave him my mithril mining rights and told him that if he used them, he’d be able to crush House Carnel for sure. Obviously, it worked. And this is what I got for it.”

Allen waved the dagger around nonchalantly.

“Y-YOU! YOUUUUUU!”

Good, good, his hatred is directed at me now. ’Cause honestly, none of what happened was Cecil’s fault anyway.

The hostility that Keel was bearing toward Allen triggered a reaction from Spirit C. The doll, which was still in Nina’s arms, gradually stopped smiling. Allen found out just how scary Maria looked without her smile.

Whoa there, Maria, do NOT attack them.

Despite remaining stone-faced, Maria nodded slightly.

Suddenly, Cecil cut in. “Allen, this is a problem between House Granvelle and House Carnel.”

“Huh?”

“You don’t deserve to be hated by someone from House Carnel for what happened. That dagger is an expression of gratitude from all of House Granvelle for saving me from former Viscount Carnel’s savagery.”

“‘S-Savagery’?! Just what are you accusing my family of?!”

“Oh? Do you not know what happened? But even so, if you’re from a noble family, you should know that your current attitude is unbecoming. Would you mind taking a seat?”

“What do you mean I don’t know?! I heard it all from the royal envoy! He said that House Carnel was destroyed because of House Granvelle’s scheming!”

“That is not how you ask for an explanation. Sit!”

Allen watched silently as Cecil reined Keel in.

“If I sit down, you’ll tell me what happened?”

“Very well. But you must also tell me what happened with you.”

Cecil wanted to know Keel’s circumstances, as she thought it strange that he had been kept in the dark. Furthermore, she also asked him to share his aim for attending the Academy despite being so destitute. Getting the full picture was very important to her, especially when he had just hinted at the fact that he was tied to a royal envoy. For all she knew, the House Granvelle Affair might not be entirely over yet.

“Okay. Tell me, then.”

Keel finally sat back down, but Cecil cast a look at Nina and the servants.

“Please have the others step outside, Keel. This is for your ears only.”

“Y-You mustn’t listen to her!” The oldest servant protested vehemently. Keel gave him a look, then turned back toward Cecil.

“Why can’t they hear this? They’re all my family.”

“This is a matter that involves House Granvelle as well. It’s not for just anyone to hear.”

Silence filled the air. Eventually, the other fifteen-year-old servant—a lady-in-waiting, by the looks of it—took the initiative to herd everyone else outside, saying, “Let’s go.” She had likely caught the implication behind Cecil’s words. Allen watched through Sharing as Nina also headed to the third floor with the servants.

Suddenly, the multipurpose room felt a lot more spacious with there being only the five members of the No-life Gamers present. Krena and Dogora also made to leave the room, but Cecil asked them to stay and listen.

Cecil began with a caveat: “Everything that I’m sharing is the truth, but it’s up to you whether to believe it or not.” She then proceeded to give a full account of the House Granvelle Affair.

Viscount Carnel had come to the Granvelle mansion with a royal envoy, bringing talk of so-called joint management of the mithril mines in the White Dragon Mountains. Lord Granvelle had turned the offer down, but that same day, three men assaulted the mansion and kidnapped Cecil, bringing her to the Carnel fiefdom on a magic ship.

As her telling continued, Keel protested several times, saying, “That can’t be true!” but Cecil admonished him each time.

After they had escaped from the ship, Cecil and Allen had gone on the run, chased by a hit man hired by Viscount Carnel. Unfortunately, the man caught up with them halfway to Granvelle City. Just as he was about to kill them, Knight Captain Zenof arrived in the nick of time and took out the hit man instead.

After the two of them safely returned home, then-Baron Granvelle had gone straight to the royal family, appealing for justice. In order to ensure that the royal family would take action, he had expressed his willingness to part with the proceeds of a mithril mine. Consequently, Viscount Carnel and the many others who had been in cahoots with him were imprisoned, with his wife now under house arrest in a villa close to the royal palace. The ensuing investigation turned up evidence that incriminated many other nobles in his political faction, leading to their incarceration or being stripped of their peerage.

“And that’s all I know,” Cecil concluded. “How different is that from what you know?”

“Th-That’s... You must be lying.”

Wow, Viscount Granvelle really went all out, huh?

This was actually also Allen’s first time hearing the full details of the incident last year known as “the House Granvelle Affair.” Even today, it was whispered about with fear among the nobles of Ratash. The reason why Cecil made Nina and the others leave the room was because she did not want them to hear of the terrible deeds that Viscount Carnel had committed.

“As I said at the start, you are free to disbelieve me. If you want, you can head to the royal capital and investigate for yourself. If you ask, I’m sure they’ll at least show you the contract for joint management of the mines with your father’s signature on it.”

Keel hung his head in shock. He needed more time to process everything he had just heard.

“Now it’s your turn. Will you let us know what you’re here in Academy City for?”

With difficulty, Keel lifted his eyes from the table. “I...right. The reason why I’m here in Academy City. It’s...a bit of a long story. That okay with you?”

Apparently the story went much further back than just what happened last year.

“That’s fine,” Cecil nodded.

“Well...”

Keel’s account came in bits and pieces. When he was born, his father, Viscount Carnel, had assigned him an army of servants and given him absolutely everything he wanted. However, that all changed when he turned five: his Appraisal Ceremony revealed that he possessed the Cleric Talent. Keel said that he still vividly remembered how, amidst the crowd of smiles and the chorus of blessings, his father alone had a look of sheer despair on his face. Soon after that, Keel was abruptly expelled from the mansion and sent to live in a different city within the fiefdom, attended to by only a handful of servants. He was never told so in so many words, but this had apparently been on the orders of the viscount himself.

Cecil looked pensive as she compared Keel’s story with her own upbringing.

Keel then spent the next seven years in his new home without receiving any of the education that noble children normally did. In addition, the amount of money the viscount sent for living expenses was extremely limited. His little sister, Nina, was the only one who stayed in contact, visiting him once every month with her own servants in tow. In spite of his treatment, she continued looking up to him as her older brother.

When Keel turned ten, a tutor was finally dispatched to him. All at once, he learned that all noble children with Talents were obligated to attend the Academy, so he would have to pass the entrance exam. That was the moment Keel realized, with both relief and melancholy, that his father still considered him part of his family.

At the end of last year, a royal envoy unceremoniously barged into the place where Keel was living with his servants. Without allowing Keel time to properly process what was happening, he had asked if Keel was Viscount Carnel’s son and if he had the Cleric Talent. When Keel replied in the affirmative to both, the envoy then told him that Keel would receive money to attend the Academy and informed him of what had occurred within the Carnel fiefdom. Lastly, the envoy had said, “His Majesty promises that if you serve your duty as a noble for five years after graduating, you can restore House Carnel as its new family head.”

The way the envoy put it, all Talented nobles had a duty to fight in a dangerous place crawling with monsters for three years. Due to the enormity of House Carnel’s crimes, Keel would have to serve for an extra two years to fully redeem his family’s name. When Allen heard this, he recalled that five years was the longest a Talented criminal could be sentenced to the battlefield for.

Keel continued his story. He had immediately accepted the envoy’s offer, then asked if he could bring Nina—as well as the servants who had also lost their home—with him to Academy City. The man gave his permission, telling Keel he could do as he pleased. After that, Keel had returned to Carnel City and served at a church there until April. He did not have to worry about paying tuition, as that was being covered by the royal family, but the money for living expenses at the Academy had all gone toward moving his whole family.

“All my life, I’d hated this Talent of mine, because it was the source of all my suffering. But it turned out there was a reason why it was given to me. There really was a reason after all...”

Keel grew overcome with emotion. Everyone remained silent, waiting for him to continue.

“I must restore House Carnel. I’ll become the family head and make a place for my family to call home. I’ll do whatever it takes.”

And so Keel ended on that resolute note. Both Krena and Dogora had sorrowful looks on their faces.

The fact that there was a royal envoy still making shady maneuvers after House Carnel’s been taken down means two things: one, that there’s at least one royal envoy that slipped through the investigation, and two, that the mastermind is probably still at large. However, before that, there’s something more important to confirm.

“By the way, Keel, did the envoy tell you more about exactly where it is that has so many monsters roaming around?”

“Huh? Why’re you asking that?”

As I’d thought. The envoy only gave him the impression that there are just a few more monsters around, expecting that he’d eventually learn Demon Lord history at the Academy. And once he was enrolled, he’d be basically trapped in the system.

“So he didn’t tell you. But well, that works out great for us. I see, so you do have the noble’s duty.”

If you’d only told me earlier!

“Huh?! What do you mean by it working out great?!”

“Y’see, Cecil and Krena also have the same duty.”

Allen explained that since Cecil was also born as a noble and Krena had the Sword Lord Talent, they also had a duty to fight. Although Dogora and Allen himself would not be conscripted, they still planned on going to this “place with lots of monsters” to protect the other two.

“So what?” Keel asked sharply, glaring at Allen as if asking him to get to the point.

“So let’s serve the duty together.”

“Wh-What’re you saying?! Were you listening to me?! I’m Viscount Carnel’s son!”

“Oh, that? I don’t mind.”

“‘Oh, that’?!” Keel was so shocked, he fell speechless.

Now this makes a lot more sense. I did think it strange to bump into a new recruit who seemed to have motivations so perfectly aligned with my own. This is more how I’d imagine things to go in real life.

In many of the games Allen had played in his previous life, the game developers practically showered the player with companions. The further along players got, the more companions joined them. As the player, he would just hit up the bar in the starting town and—lo and behold!—he would make a new friend who conveniently had a backstory that served as a source of resolve to accompany the player to the very end of the game and fight the final boss.

A few years into his life in this world, Allen realized this was not how real life actually went. Case in point, what the boy—for Keel was still only a twelve-year-old boy—currently before him wanted was to restore his family name for the sake of his sister and servants. That had nothing to do with defeating the Demon Lord.

“You might not have heard, Keel, but half of the people who head to that ‘place with a lot of monsters’ die within three years. Seventy percent in five years. Almost all the monsters there are Rank B or higher. Did the royal envoy mention that at all?”

Keel’s eyes widened in astonishment as he shook his head. Everyone in this world understood just how much of a threat Rank B monsters posed.

Naturally, he wasn’t told about the strength of the monsters nor about the Demon Lord. I see...

However, despite having faltered a short while upon hearing about the Rank B monsters, Keel quickly gathered himself. He replied, “That doesn’t matter. It doesn’t change what I have to do.”

I figured he’d say that. He did say he’d do whatever it takes.

It was now clear that Keel felt that protecting his family was his calling.

“Well, that’s the kind of place we’ll be going to. We’re frequenting the dungeons in preparation precisely because we know how dangerous it’s gonna be. Three years is nothing. They’ll fly by in the blink of an eye.”

“So that’s why...” Understanding dawned on Keel’s face as he also finally learned what was motivating Allen’s group.

“Keel, come with us. Let’s fight together. Although our goals may be different, we’ll be doing the same thing. Isn’t that good enough?”

I’ve basically described the Demon Lord Army to him, but we can tell him about the Demon Lord another time. It’d just complicate things revealing the entire Demon Lord history to him right now. In the first place, I don’t think it’ll take us five whole years to kill the Demon Lord. He’ll be able to go home sooner than five years, if all goes well.

“Fight...together?”

“That’s right. It’s totally fine for you to fight for your own goals.”

Keel looked torn. He could walk out on this deal if he wanted, but doing so meant returning Nina and his servants to their life of poverty. It was clear what he ought to do—as the future head of House Carnel.

“I-I’ll use all of you for my own goals, okay? Even if you’re a Sword Lord or whatever else you may be. For the sake of my family, I’ll take advantage of your fighting abilities. So...you sure about this?”

“Mm-hm! Let’s fight together!” Reacting to the mention of her Talent, Krena held out a hand toward Keel with a bright smile.

Allen nodded. “Then it’s decided. Glad to have you on board, Keel. Cecil, Dogora, is this fine with you?” Although most things went as Allen suggested, he always made sure to make important decisions as a group.

“Well, I admit I never expected to be living together with someone from House Carnel. I’d probably be the first ever member of House Granvelle to do so.”

“It’s cool with me. Honestly, y’all lost me halfway through. All I know is that Keel is now our companion. That’s enough for me.”

“All right, back to the dinner,” Allen said. “You guys aren’t done eating yet, right? Let’s continue the welcome party.”

“I’ll go call everyone back down!” Krena was already out the door and pounding up the stairs.

“Wh-What on...” Keel simply stared blankly, caught off guard by how abruptly the No-life Gamers had moved on.

“You just have to get used to it,” Cecil sighed, shrugging her shoulders.